Sunday, February 05, 2006

LINK HARARE - DOCTORS in Zimbabwe have for the first time voiced their concern over the poor state of the public service delivery system in a country gripped by an outbreak of communicable diseases. The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) issued a statement on Saturday saying they wanted the government to act on the deteriorating system, which contributed to the outbreak of diseases, in particular cholera.About 14 people died of cholera in Zimbabwe a few weeks and others died of dysentery. Health experts blamed the outbreak to an accumulation of garbage in Zimbabwe’s capital, which is facing acute fuel shortages. Also, due to foreign currency shortages, local authorities have failed to upgrade sewer system resulting in frequent pipe busts.

It’s common in Zimbabwe for raw sewage to flow through streets for months without any corrective measures being taken by local authorities.

They often say they do not have either fuel or spare parts needed to fix the chronic problems. The concerned doctors who treat victims of the deteriorating health environment said: “It is essential that there be a more coherent central Government strategy to ensure that Zimbabweans are accorded the best attainable state of physical and mental health. The Government’s knee-jerk response to the cholera outbreak earlier this year continues to be inadequate as a measure to prevent disease outbreak in the medium to long-term future,” said the doctors.